Songs About Me
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: A collection of one-shot songfics surrounding the Naruto series. Genres and Rating will be in each chapter. M for some future chapters.
1. As Good As I Was To You

Songs About Me

DG32173

Sarah: here's another fanfic with multiple one-shots. But this time it's one-shot song-fics and will include multiple pairings, genre, etc; and some won't even have pairings. Well, like in _Shadows & Cherry Blossoms_ there won't be much author chat before or after the song-fics. I'll probably only comment on ones I really like; and I'm considering moving some of my other Naruto song-fics into here. Well, I've talked long enough; I hope you enjoy these song-fics.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Naruto anime or manga. I do own my song-fics so don't steal.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: AU Sakura finds Sasuke out on a date with another girl.

GENRE: Angst

PAIRINGS: Sasu/Saku, Sasu/OC

SONG: As Good As I Was to You

ARTIST: Lila McCann

------------------------

AS GOOD AS I WAS TO YOU

_She drove up to the restaurant  
where they used to dine_

Sakura takes a deep breath before stepping out of her car. Some of her friends had informed her that her boyfriend, high school star varsity quarterback Uchiha Sasuke, was caught cheating with another girl in this restaurant, the one they've gone to twice a week since they started dating five years ago. So she decided to pay a visit after seeing photos of him kissing another girl and holding her very intimately.

_And sitting at the table  
was someone new this time_

As she enters the fancy restaurant, her heart falls at seeing her boyfriend holding the hand of another girl and leaning in to kiss her.

_She walked up right beside him  
her face did not turn red  
she looked at him so calmly  
and this is what she said_

She sighs and walks calmly up to their usual table, ending up standing beside him. Her face doesn't turn red with shyness this time, as it used to every time they were so close. He notices her instantly and pales. She looks at him very calmly. "As good as I was to you, is this the thanks I get? Have you already forgotten the years we've been together?" she asks softly. He opens his mouth to speak, but she shakes her head.

"_As good as I was to you  
is this the thanks I get?  
Are all the years we shared  
so easy to forget?_

Sakura gives an ironic smile. "Is she your dream girl? She sure looks good. But she won't ever be as good as I was to you."

"_Does this mean that you won?  
Are you finally having fun?  
Is she your dream come true?_

"_Oh she sure looks good  
but she won't ever be  
as good as I was to you"_

The entire restaurant is silent now, everyone staring at them. Haruno Sakura and her boyfriend Uchiha Sasuke have become a well known couple throughout Konoha. To have her find him cheating on her is inconceivable. After a while, a waiter bravely asks, "Should I bring another chair?"

_The room got awfully quiet  
And everybody stared  
Finally the waiter said  
"Should I bring another chair?"_

She looks at the waiter, then back at the man who stole her heart and broke it. "No, I was just leaving," she says softly, turning to go. She pauses a moment. "Honey, you can keep him. I don't want him anymore," she says to the girl.

_She said "No I was just leaving"  
but as she walked out the door  
she said "Honey you can have him  
I don't want him anymore"_

She sends another glance to Sasuke. "We're done, Sasuke," she says. "You were looking out for yourself, it seems. And I don't think you thought it through. But it's too late for that now. Good bye."

"_As good as I was to you  
is this the thanks I get?  
Are all the years we shared  
So easy to forget?  
Is this the way it's done?  
Looking out for number one?  
Did you think it through?"_

Sakura walks out the door, leaving behind a stunned crowd that is still staring at Sasuke; his eyes have filled with heartbreak, loneliness, and pain.

"_Oh she sure looks good  
but she won't ever be  
As good as I was to you"_

The girl Sasuke was dating is blushing a bright pink at all the unwanted attention. She hadn't even known that Sasuke was still with Sakura when he asked her out that first time, a few months ago.

"_Does this mean that you won?  
Are you finally having fun?  
Is she your dream come true?  
Oh she sure looks good  
but she won't ever be  
as good as I was to you"_

The girl looks at Sasuke sadly. She will not date a man who cheats. She stands up from her chair. Sasuke's eyes turn to her instantly. She shakes her head. "I can't be with a man who goes behind his girlfriend's back to date another girl. I won't be able to trust him. I'm sorry Sasuke, but we're through," she says, shouldering her purse and walking out.

Sasuke is left alone at a table set for a romantic dinner for two. He looks down, realizing that he has lost Sakura forever and soon the entire town will know why.

"_As good as I was to you."_


	2. Missing

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Naruto series or any songs I use in this fic.

RATING: T

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Sakura falls into a deep depression after being raped by a teammate on a mission. Here is what comes of that depression.

GENRE: angst

PAIRINGS: mentioned Kaka/Saku

SONG: Missing

ARTIST: Evanescence

* * *

MISSING

_Please, please forgive me  
but I won't be home again._

A shadow slowly and cautiously slips out of Konoha under a snowy midnight sky. The shadow clutches its cloak tighter around itself to keep back the icy winter wind. But no matter how cold it may be around the shadow, it is nowhere near the cold empty feeling within.

About twenty kilometers from Konoha, the shadow pushes back the hood of its cloak to reveal the tired, sad face of a pink haired maiden. Sakura sighs and slips her hand into the pocket of the jacket she is wearing beneath her cloak. A weak and tired smile graces lips that have not worn one for months as her finger is cut on the razor sharp edge of a knife hidden within the pocket.

She looks around, making sure no one is following her. Then she chides herself for doing such a thing. The only ones who would follow her everywhere, even to hell and back, are dead. And soon she will join her friends, fellow members of Team 7, and her shishou, the Sanin Tsunade.

_Maybe someday you'll look up  
and barely conscious, you'll say to no one:  
"Isn't something missing?"_

Jiraiya has stayed in a drunken stupor ever since Tsunade was killed and his protégé, Uzumaki Naruto, died killing Yakushi Kabuto, who had been the one to kill Tsunade. Kabuto had taken Orochimaru's place after the Sanin was killed by his own protégé, Uchiha Sasuke. Jiraiya won't be able to stay sober very long for many years to come, if ever.

_You won't cry for my absence, I know -  
you forgot me long ago._

Shizune has been so busy as the Shikikage (seventh Hokage) that she has had little time for friends. She won't know about Sakura's plan until it is far too late.

_Am I that unimportant…?  
Am I so insignificant…?_

Kakashi died soon after Naruto. A small war between Sound and Leaf had taken the lives of most of Sakura's friends and their Genin teachers. Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, and Genma all died fighting to protect Sakura, Shizune, and the medical staff of the hospital Tsunade had brought into being as well as all their patients. They managed to protect the hospital at the cost of their lives.

_Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?_

Soon Sakura enters a very familiar clearing. She's been coming here every night around midnight for the last seven years, ever since almost all her friends died in that war.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
you won't try for me, not now.  
_

She crouches before the memorial stone, tracing the names of her parents, her friends, and her love. She had fallen in love with Kakashi, as he had fallen in love with her. They wed on Sakura's nineteenth birthday. They'd be celebrating their eighth anniversary today if he had lived. Her eyes water as her fingers brush over Kakashi's name again and again.

_Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_

"I love you," she whispers softly to his name. "I love you. I miss you, Kashi-kun."

_Please, please forgive me,  
but I won't be home again._

Sakura and Kakashi had decided to wait until after the war to have children. But Kakashi didn't live to keep the agreement. Now she has nothing but pictures and a name on a stone to remember him by. In Konoha, all ninja who die in action are cremated to prevent enemies from digging up bodies to somehow find out Konoha secrets.

_I know what you do to yourself  
I breathe deep and cry out,  
"Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?"_

She spread Kakashi's ashes in a hidden forest grotto two days after he was cremated. They had accidentally found the grotto one day when training while they were still dating. No one else knew of the grotto, so they claimed it for themselves. It was there that he proposed to her. It was there they shared their first kiss with each other. It was there Sakura lost her virginity to him.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
you won't try for me, not now._

Sakura viciously wipes the tears from her eyes as she remembers the grotto. She hasn't been to it since the day she spread his ashes there. She hears a distant clock tower strike two am. She leans forward and kisses Kakashi's name on the stone, then gets up from her crouched position.

_Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_

She then pulls her cloak hood back up. Instead of turning back to the village like she always has after visiting the memorial for two hours, she turns deeper into the forest. She may not have been to the grotto for seven years, but she remembers exactly where it is. She and Kakashi went there everyday after they found it. Well, everyday until the war started. And she's only been there once since the start of the war.

_And if I bleed, I'll bleed  
knowing you don't care._

No one in the village has paid much attention to the young widow since Kakashi died. Actually, they've avoided her to allow her privacy to mourn. She wears black every day, as proof of still being in mourning. She lets her feet take a path that only the most eagle-sighted would notice. Tears slip out of her eyes to freeze on her cheeks. After a few minutes, she carefully removes the frozen tears from her skin, only for more to take their place as the tears that had stopped the day she scattered Kakashi's ashes come back in abundance.

_And if I sleep just to dream of you  
I'll wake without you there._

Soon she sees the familiar overgrown bushes that hide the entrance to the grotto.. That weak and tired smile returns to her lips as she carefully pushes her way through the bushes. She enters the beautiful grotto, only to be surprised to see it as it would look in spring,. Flowers are blooming on small bushes, the grass is thick and lush beneath her feet, the trees have bright green leaves growing on them.

_Isn't something missing?  
Isn't something …_

Her weak and tired smile broadens slightly. It looks exactly as it had the day she scattered Kakashi's ashes here. She shrugs out of her black cloak and jacket to reveal a beautiful ankle-length silver dress. She slips off her boots and removes her socks to walk barefoot in the lush green growth. She walks slowly to a small, natural fountain in the center of the grotto and runs her fingers through the cool water.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
you won't try for me, not now._

She returns to her jacket and pulls the knife out of the pocket carefully. Then she goes back to the fountain. She kneels down and places the knife firmly between two rocks that are only about a centimeter apart. She then puts her wrists on the double-edged blade.

_Though I'd die to know you love me_

She digs the knife into her skin and pushes her arms up to rip open two bloody, scarily straight wounds, one on each arm. Each wound is goes from her wrists to her elbows.

_I'm all alone._

Already dizzy from blood loss, she puts her neck against the tip of the blade. She digs the sharp point into the left side of her neck. Then she swiftly pulls her head and neck to the right, cutting through every vein in her neck.

_Isn't someone missing me?_

The last thing Sakura sees while part of the living is a blur in the air next to her. She faintly notes the blur is human shaped and has silver hair. She sees the blur turn into a ghostly form of her beloved Kakashi kneeling beside her just before she leaves the living world.


	3. Beaches of Cheyenne

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Naruto series nor do I own any songs I use in this fic.

RATING: T **(just to be safe)**

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Kiba goes bull riding and Sakura isn't happy. How is she to react when he dies?

GENRE: undecided

PAIRINGS: Kiba/Saku

SONG: Beaches of Cheyenne

ARTIST: Garth Brooks

* * *

BEACHES OF CHEYENNE

_They packed up all his buckles  
and shipped his saddle to his dad_

"Shame really, that poor boy shouldn't have drawn Tornado; he'd still be alive if he hadn't. That bull can't be ridden by any man or woman; he's a killer but his owner won't put him down," a man with dark brown hair and brown eyes says to a woman with black hair and eerily red eyes. Both of them are packing up dozens of buckles that belonged to a recently deceased bull rider.

"Well, she says she's looking for someone capable of taming the brute; but a killer bull should be put down to save lives," the woman agrees, putting an expensive custom designed saddle in a large shipping box with the buckles. "That poor wife of his. I'd rather not get a call like what she's getting. I hope she can handle it."

_And by the way the house looked  
she must have took it bad_

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGG**

A young woman with long bubblegum pink hair and bright green eyes sighs in frustration as she answers her cell phone. "Hello?" she asks.

"Is this Mrs. Sakura Inuzuki? The wife of Kiba Inuzuki?" a male voice asks.

Sakura's eyes widen. Something about the way the man had asked his questions tells her something's wrong with Kiba. "This is she. How is Kiba? Is he okay?" she asks, hiding her panic.

The man on the other end of the phone sighs sadly. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Inuzuki, but your husband was killed by one of the bulls," the man says gently.

_The workers come on Monday  
to fix the door and patch the wall  
they say she just went crazy  
the night she got the call_

Sakura narrows her eyes. "Please, don't joke like this!" she says harshly. "Kiba is the best bull rider in the country. No bull can get him off, much less kill him!"

_He was up in Wyoming  
and drew a bull no man could ride  
he promised her he'd turn out  
well it turned out that he lied  
and their dreams that they'd been livin'  
in the California sand  
died right there beside him in Cheyenne_

"I'm sorry ma'am, but this isn't a joke. He drew the one bull that no man can ride. Kiba Inuzuki died three hours ago at the hospital. Every major organ had burst and most of his bones were smashed when the bull trampled him."

_They say she just went crazy  
screamin' out his name  
she ran out into the ocean_

Sakura gasps as she realizes that it isn't a joke. The phone slips from her suddenly lax hand and breaks on the marble floor she is standing on. She lets out a scream of emotional pain as she runs through the house. She keeps hitting the wall, making multitudes of holes in the walls. She slams open the front door and runs across the sand of their private beach. She keeps running into the water, screaming Kiba's name the whole time. She doesn't stop running or screaming as she goes underwater. A small white and brown dog had followed her into the water, knowing without being told that his human is dead.

_And to this day they claim  
that if you go down by the water  
you'll see her footprints in the sand  
'cause every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne_

The death of one Kiba Inuzuki, top bull rider in America, and the disappearance of his lovely wife and loyal dog was the top story in the news for nearly three years. And even now, nearly fifteen years after the fact, people still tell their version of the story of what happened to Sakura Inuzuki.

_They never found her body  
just her diary by their bed_

Neither her body nor the body of their dog have ever been found. The only evidence they were even around at all was the badly battered private beach estates and the warped door, as well as her diary by their bed and the dog toys scattered around the house.

_It told about the fight they had  
and the words that she had said_

The diary of Sakura Inuzuki was published and translated into multiple languages for the world to read. One of the final entries tells of a fight occurring just before Kiba Inuzuki left for his fatal bull riding competition.

_When he told her he was ridin'  
she said "then I don't give a damn  
if you never come back from Cheyenne"_

Dear Diary

Kiba just left for yet another bull riding competition, this time in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I really regret what I said before he left. When he told me he had entered the competition after promising that the last time would be his final one, well, I got pissed.

I told him that if he left this house, I don't give a damn if he never comes back from Cheyenne. But I was so upset with him because he broke his promise not to ride in competitions anymore. I'll have to call him in a few days when he cools off and apologize. I hope he'll forgive me; I didn't mean what I said, really I didn't.

I think I'll surprise him by showing up for the finals. I know he's going to win the preliminary rounds; he's the best bull rider in America, so of course he's going to win this competition easily. Those rookie riders better step back from the bulls when he shows up; they're already beat before they begin. I should go; Akamaru wants to go for a walk, he brought his leash to me and is giving me those begging puppy eyes.

Sakura Inuzuki

_They say she just went crazy  
screamin' out his name  
she ran out into the ocean_

That entry into her diary was one of the reasons why everyone thinks she went crazy with grief when he was killed in the preliminaries. But there are curious sightings in Cheyenne, Wyoming; woman-like and dog-like footprints just appearing before the eyes of people on the beaches of Cheyenne.

_And to this day they claim  
that you can go down by the water  
and see her footprints in the sand  
'cause every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne_

Some people even claim that she's not dead and that they've actually seen her really late at night, walking the beaches with her dog. Most people just laugh at the stories, say the tellers are seeing things, and then continue one their way.

_Nobody can explain it  
some say she's still alive  
they even claim they've seen her  
on the shoreline late at night_

But no one can provide a reason why footprints were appearing in a documentary of the Cheyenne area; woman-like and dog-like footprints walking away from the camera when the crew was documenting the beaches. Many superstitious people say that this documentary is proof that there are ghosts in our world.

_So if you go down by the water  
you'll see her footprints in the sand  
'cause every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne_

So, do you think she really does haunt the beaches of Cheyenne? Or is she really still alive? It's up for you to decide your own opinion. But remember this:

_Every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne…_


	4. They Call it Falling for a Reason

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the songs I use in this fanfic. Nor do I own the Naruto series. So go away you dumb lawyers! Nor do I own the part of the story about Kakashi spoiling Sakura's dates.

RATING: T (just in case)

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Sakura thinks about her lessons in love, with both Sasuke and Kakashi.

GENRE: romance

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku, slight Sasu/Saku

SONG: They Call it Falling for a Reason

ARTIST: Trisha Yearwood

* * *

THEY CALL IT FALLING FOR A REASON

"_He had me spinning like a girl in the circus in a trapeze act"_

Sakura smiles softly as she looks out her bedroom window at the falling snow, gently stroking her swollen stomach. Her beloved is asleep in the bed a few feet behind her. He has an A-ranked solo mission tomorrow and needs his rest. She promised to hold off the birth of their first children, twins, until he comes back to be there by her side when their small babies greet the world for the first time.

She couldn't get to sleep, so she's sitting on the window seat, watching the snow fall. It's going to be a white Christmas this year, it seems. She glances at her husband and chuckles softly. He is covering the lower half of his face with his hand, hiding it the way a bit of clothe does during the day hours. Her eyes trail down his nude body then back up to his face again. She shakes her head in amusement and then turns back to the midnight snow scene out the window. She remembers the road of love her heart took to bring her to this happiness.

"_Tell me what are you supposed to do when you've been kissed like that"_

Her first love lasted from seven to sixteen; a large part of her twenty-two years of life. Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's number-one heartthrob back then. Half the women in the city, young girls to married women, fell head-over-heals in love with his handsome face and stand-off attitude. They all, her included, 'forgot' the part about him becoming a jerk after Itachi slaughtered the rest of their family.

"_I don't think I've ever been so high"_

She was the only one who was able to get close enough to talk to him. The other girls didn't dare, after he won a fight with some of the toughest Genin of that time, and he was only eight. Many guys were absolutely jealous of the jerk for his ability to draw women to him in flocks, despite that he hated that aspect of him.

"_Is it any wonder I felt like I could fly"_

The day she was put in the same Genin team as him was one of the best days in her life. At least it was then. This way she could be around him without needing an excuse to get so close. That was also the day she met Kakashi. And her heart split in two, one half vying for Sasuke, the other chasing after her mysterious Jounin teacher.

"_It's a tumblin' rush it's a helpless kind of feeling  
When your heart doesn't know which way is up or down"_

She chose to stick with the safer option at the time, Sasuke. Big mistake, but she didn't realize it for several years. She tried time and again to get Sasuke to date her, only to be turned away over and over. She ignored it, thinking he was playing 'hard-to-get'. She ignored the insults he sent her way, got jealous of the way he paid so much more attention to Naruto as a rival than her as a possible date, and kept trying to get him to notice her.

"'_Til you hit the ground hard and fast, bruised & barely breathin'  
I guess they call it falling for a reason"_

Just before her thirteenth birthday, Sasuke ran off to train with Orochimaru. She was devastated. She didn't see Kakashi, Naruto, and the other guys, her age and much older, who were into her. She only saw the ultimate rejection the Uchiha had given so far. Soon after, her heart was torn out again when Naruto went to train with Jiraiya for two and a half years. She had somehow been won as a friend to the outgoing blonde. The only thing that kept her afloat was training under both Kakashi and Tsunade while waiting for Naruto to return so they could go get Sasuke together, as they had promised.

"_I was death defying, yeah, flying with the greatest of ease  
There was nothing out there but the wind and the air and me_

She immediately noticed that Kakashi was treating her different than he treated the boys and wondered on it. But she never guessed that he had fallen in love with her, and wouldn't for several years. Just before her sixteenth birthday, she and Naruto teamed up with Sai, who she decided was cute, but definitely not her kind of guy… he was always flirting with Naruto for one thing. The three of them went after Sasuke, to try to bring him back. But they failed. She also realized upon seeing Sasuke that he was not the kind of guy she could handle being with. He was still more talkative with Naruto than her, for one point.

They failed on bringing him back, again. This frustrated Naruto to no end. Sakura was slowly figuring out that the connection between Naruto was more than the best friend/rival connection. It went a lot deeper than that. They returned to Konoha in time to prepare for attacks from the Akatsuki. Naruto started training harder than ever to be strong enough to bring Sasuke back.

"_It's a long way down I don't know how I survived  
It's a hell of a way to feel like you're alive"_

Sakura turned her attention from becoming physically strong to learning to use her perfect chakra control to its fullest extent. She and Naruto had won the bell test Kakashi had given them shortly before leaving on their attempt to bring Sasuke back. She had surprised, and terrified, both men by turning the forest grounds into a place that looked like an earthquake hit it with just one punch to the ground. The shockwave from the force of her punch shook all of Konoha. But most of the civilians and ninja were used to it by now. Everyone knew Tsunade had passed on her superb strength to her apprentice. And said apprentice practiced every day to become stronger.

"_It's a tumblin' rush it's a helpless kind of feeling  
When your heart doesn't know which way is up or down"_

Only Kakashi and Naruto were always away while Sakura trained under Tsunade, Naruto with training with Jiraiya and Kakashi taking on one mission the second he finishes another. Most of his missions were A-class solo missions, like he still gets today.

"_'Til you hit the ground hard and fast, bruised & barely breathin'  
I guess they call it falling for a reason"_

It was soon after she and Naruto got back from the failed rescue attempt that Sakura turned her attention to dating men other than Sasuke, who she finally noticed were after her all along, ever since she was just a Genin. She dated around for a while before noticing a pattern that had suddenly shown up a few weeks into her quest to find a boyfriend. _Someone_ was spoiling her dates. And before every date she met up with Kakashi for a while and had to turn down sparring offers for her dates.

"_Falling  
I don't think I've ever been so high  
Is it any wonder I felt like I could fly"_

Finally, several weeks into the date-spoiling, she realized exactly who was spoiling her dates. She had suspicions for a while but she only confirmed it when a date-prospect didn't even show up at her house to pick her up for the date. And Kakashi showed up just when she was giving up on the guy, having brought some food with him. The next day, she confronted him about it. She knew he'd never admit it, so she told him in no uncertain terms to pick her up at seven-thirty for a date; if he was late, she would wear long sleeves and a high collar. He asked about if he was on time. She told him to think about a, small, tight, red dress she had bought for a date when he was helping her shop. He showed up early.

"_It's a tumblin' rush it's a helpless kind of feeling  
When your heart doesn't know which way is up or down  
'Til you hit the ground hard and fast, bruised & barely breathin'  
I guess they call it falling for a reason  
They call it falling for a reason"_

She was almost nineteen when she had her first date with Kakashi. And they've been together ever since, despite his late streak. Strong arms wrap around her waist and she leans back to lay her head on his chest. "What are you doing up at this hour?" he asks, his chest rumbling while he speaks.

"_Falling"_

She smiles, her hands resting on his arms. "Couldn't sleep, so I was watching the snow and thinking," she replies.

"Thinking? What about?"

She grins. "How we got together and how long it took," she answers, chuckling when he lets out a laugh.

"It did take a while," he responds with a smile in his voice, resting his head on hers.

"Indeed it did. Too long, in my opinion," she murmurs, falling asleep to the sound of his heart thumping in his chest and the soft, tender voice he reserves just for her.

"Much too long," he agrees. "Now come, time for bed," he continues, helping her to the bed, she lays down and he lays with his chest against her back, his hands resting on the bulge of her stomach. They soon fall to sleep together.

"_Falling"_


	5. High Maintenance Woman

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any songs or Naruto references you will find within this fic. So stop asking already!

RATING: T

CHAPTER SUMMARY: AU Kakashi is the maintenance man for the apartment Sakura lives in; he dreams of the day the superstar will be his. But will it ever come?

GENRE: Romance/Humor

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku

SONG: High Maintenance Woman

ARTIST: Toby Keith

* * *

HIGH MAINTENANCE WOMAN

"_I see you laying  
by the poolside every day,"_

Mix-matched black and red eyes follow a tall, slender, pink-haired woman as she walks past the owner in a string bikini to lay on a lounge chair by the pool a few yards away. The owner of the eyes sighs, knowing that he won't be the one to win that woman's heart. She's a superstar: actress, model, singer… she does it all. And he's just the maintenance man of the apartment complex she calls home when she's here in Hollywood. He continues using the pool net to drag leaves and twigs out of the pool so the rich people who live here don't start complaining.

"_She ain't got a lot on,  
she ain't got a lot to say."_

Kakashi Hatake can't help glancing back at the beautiful woman, even though he knows she won't even talk to him unless something in her elaborate suite is broken. His eyes trail along her lithe, feminine body. His eyes glue themselves to her when she stretches before turning onto her stomach, so she won't have uneven tan lines. He returns to his job, going slow so he can stay out and watch her swim. About twenty minutes later, she decides that she's tanned long enough and dives into the pool to cool off before she leaves.

"_She wouldn't look my way,  
but buddy what'd you expect?  
I'm just the fix-it-up boy  
at the apartment complex."_

Unknown to Kakashi, the beautiful woman, Sakura Haruno, knows that he watches her whenever they are in the same place. She's curious as to why. You see, she's a very modest woman, despite being a multi-billionaire superstar. Stardom is in her very genes; for generations, her family has been world-famous superstars as far back as she can trace, all the way back to the family origins of Japan millennia ago. So it's only natural for her to grow up and be famous from birth through to death.

Sakura glances out of the corner of her eyes while she swims laps in the pool to see the maintenance man watching her again. She smirks as she dives under to turn around. He is very hot, even with mix-matched eyes. She wonders why he's a maintenance man when he could easily be a superstar himself. She never did catch his name, even though he told her a thousand times. Ka-something, she knows that much.

She dives under to start her final lap before she has to go to her suite to get ready for the photo shoot in about two hours. These things are time-consuming, and very boring. Good thing most photographers and their crew are very fun to be around. After the photo shoot, she has to go and record yet another new song for her latest record. Then she has a meeting with a director who wants her to star in a movie he's planning on making. And then she ends the day by going to the new pub in town to meet up with her girlfriends.

"_And she'll go out dancing bout 7:15,  
climb into the back of a long limousine,  
I know where she's going,  
she's going downtown,  
I'm going downtown too,  
and take a look around."_

Kakashi watches the woman of his dreams climb into her private transportation, a _very_ long black limousine with her own private chauffer. He knows where she's going; he has her schedule memorized from the times he goes to her suite to fix up things. He glances at his watch, smirking at seeing its 7:15. He has a five hour break now, letting one of the junior maintenance workers take over for a while. He checks his pockets for his keys and makes his way out to the staff parking lot. He gets in his old Ford and heads downtown, going to the new pub she will be meeting some of her girlfriends at.

"_She's my baby doll,  
She's my beauty queen,  
She's my movie star,  
Best I've ever seen."_

Kakashi slips into the pub, grateful that its one open to the public as well as the stars. He sees her at the bar with about seven other women, all very beautiful in their own rights. But they don't even catch his eye when she's around.

"_I ain't hooked it up yet,  
But I'm trying as hard as I can.  
It's just a high maintenance woman,  
Don't want no maintenance man."_

Sakura spots the maintenance man from her apartment slip in. she knows he has a five hour break from 7pm to midnight. She smiles softly. "What you smiling at, Sakura?" Temari asks.

"Remember that hottie I told you about? The maintenance man from my apartment building?" she says. Her girlfriends all nod. "He's right over there, the one with silver hair," she says, pointing at him when he isn't looking. "He's actually around our age, despite that hair color. The landlord told me so, then asked me why."

"I hope you didn't tell him why!" Ino exclaims.

Sakura laughs. "I told him to pay attention to his own job and don't question me," she says. "He instantly went on his way, acting like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar."

The other women laugh and examine the maintenance man across the room. "He really should get into showbiz," Tayuya says. "He'd be popular in an instant. He's so hot."

"You should totally get him to ask you out," Tsunade declares.

"Or just call him to your room on a false call and then capture him for yourself," Ino suggests.

"You guys are totally out of it. How could such a guy like a girl like me? Maintenance people don't like superstars that way," Sakura says softly.

"Well he's been eyeing you almost all night," Hinata puts in. "I think he likes you to some extent. You should go and dance with him."

"What?!" Sakura gasps, shocked that her shy friend would suggest such an outgoing move.

"Hinata's right. You should go ask him to dance," Ino says.

"And don't take no for an answer," Tenten and Tayuya say at the same time.

Shizune grins. "Go on," she urges.

Sakura shakes her head laughing. "I can't do that! He would totally freak out on me." She looks at her watch. "Anyways, I got to go, it's nearly midnight and I have to go back to another meeting with that director tomorrow morning, then another photo shoot. I'm gonna need some sleep."

"Or maybe you should just cancel all plans tomorrow and invite him up to your suite tonight, and keep him there all night and tomorrow and forever," Ino suggests.

All eight women laugh. "You guys are such flirts," Sakura says. She smiles. "But I might consider what you said Ino," she adds, leaving the bar and her shocked friends.

"_I'm just sitting around  
waiting on a telephone call  
after a water pipe exploded,  
in the living room wall."_

Kakashi watches the beautiful woman leave and follows soon after. His has to get back to work before midnight, and that's only ten minutes away. Good thing he lives at the apartment complex, like all employees except the landlord do. The maintenance line connects right to his suite phone until he has breaks or free days. Tomorrow is a free day; he only works until seven in the morning, until the maintenance line switches over to one of the junior maintenance workers suites. Employee suites are nowhere near as fancy and elaborate as cliental suites; the employee suites only have the very basics the employees will need to live on.

"_If your washer and dryer  
need a repair,  
You know your handyman's waitin,  
and he'll be right there."_

Not even four hours after Kakashi returns to his suite, the phone rings. A maintenance call at quarter to four in the morning. He picks up to phone. "Hello?" he says, checking the ID. He perks up when he sees that it's the number to the suite the woman of his dreams lives in.

"_24 hours, 7 days a week,  
If it's getting clogged up  
or maybe starting to leak,  
Just ring up my number,  
Baby give me a try,  
You know I got all the tools,  
And I can satisfy."_

"Hey, I need you to come here and fix my sink; it's leaking and flooding the cabinet area beneath," her calm voice says.

"Sure thing. I'm on my way," he says.

"Hurry please," she says before hanging up.

He smiles and hangs up as well. He gathers the equipment he'll need to fix a leaky sink. He quickly calls one of the junior maintenance workers and lets him know that there was a call and that it will take a while, and that he shall have to take over for him. The junior maintenance worker agrees and both men hang up the phone. Kakashi quickly switches the maintenance line to the other man's phone

""_She's my baby doll,  
She's my beauty queen,  
She's my movie star,  
Best I've ever seen."_

Her grabs his equipment and heads upstairs to her suite on the sixth floor. He knocks on the door; it's opened almost instantly to reveal the woman in her silk and lace nightgown. "Please come in," she says, stepping back so he has room to enter.

He obeys and waits patiently while she closes and locks her door again. He knows she always keeps her door locked, even if she's there. She knows very well how the paparazzi is when it comes to bursting in on sleeping superstars if the door is left unlocked for even a few moments. He nods at her and starts to head to the kitchen when her voice stops him. "What's your name again? I've forgotten, being so busy and all," she explains.

"_I ain't asked her out yet,  
Cause I don't know if I can.  
You see a high maintenance woman  
Don't want no maintenance man."_

"Kakashi Hatake, ma'am," he says politely.

"Please, just call me Sakura; ma'am makes me feel old," she requests.

He grins and nods. "Alright, Sakura," he says, loving the taste of her name on his tongue. "Now about that leak," he says, turning back to the kitchen, only for her voice to stop him again.

"There is no leak," she says softly. He looks at her in surprise. "I was wanting to talk to you."

" _She's my baby doll,  
She's my beauty queen,  
She's my movie star,  
Best I've ever seen."_

"What about?" he asks cautiously. Has he done something to displease her? Is she going to get after him about something?

"Relax, it's nothing bad," she reassures him. Some of the tenseness in his body leaves, but he is still very worried about what she might want to talk about. She motions to a chair and sits in one herself. He obeys the silent command and takes the seat he was offered.

"_I ain't hooked it up yet,  
But I'm trying as hard as I can.  
It's just a high maintenance woman  
Don't want no maintenance man."_

"I've noticed you watching me," she starts. He tenses again. Is she going to tell him to stop? Cause he doesn't know if he can. "It's alright. I've been watching you too," she admits.

"Why?" he asks, wary of anything that she might say.

"_Ain't no high maintenance woman  
gonna fall for a maintenance man."_

"Because you are a very interesting yet puzzling man," she replies. He cocks his head in confusion. "Someone like you could easily be much more than a mere maintenance man; and yet you stick to the job as if you're glued to it. It is very puzzling, in my opinion. And you are so mysterious whenever you are in public, as if your hiding something from the world. Mysteries and puzzles are very interesting to me. It makes me want to solve them whatever way I have to. But I can't seem to solve the mysteries and puzzles you represent. And that makes me even more interested. I am very good at solving mysteries and puzzles, and rarely come across ones that I can't solve." She smiles softly as she says the next part. "Another mystery about you is that you attract my attention in ways no one else ever had. It evades my knowledge as to why this happens."

"You are interested in me? How so?" he asks, wondering if she is playing with his heart.

She smiles, guessing at his suspicions. "I'm not playing you, Kakashi. I'm not that kind of person. And I'm interested in ways that are rather inappropriate to talk about in public. This is why I called you up at this hour, so no one will hear. I am very interested in you as a woman would be interested in a man she cares for greatly, though I know very little about you." His heart leaps to his throat. "I am interested in you as a man who I would want to stay by my side, for as long as we live." Kakashi's spirit soars at this tidbit. Perhaps his dreams will come true after all. She leaves her chair to kneel beside him "I want to get to know you as far more than a friend, or an occasional lover. I want to get to know you as well as you know yourself. And I want you to know me that much as well." She takes a deep breath. "What I'm asking for, Kakashi, is for you to stay with me in more ways than just living together. I want you quit your job and stay with me as a boyfriend, a husband, a soul mate. That's what I believe we are, soul mates. Will you?"

His answer comes not verbally as she had expected, but through actions. He pulls her into his lap and slams his lips against hers, using his tongue to open her willing lips. He holds the kiss as long as they can hold their breath. But sadly, one needs air to live, so they part very slowly. He moves his lips to her ear to whisper two words for her ears alone. "I will."


	6. All American Girl

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: how many times do I have to say I don't own the Naruto series?

RATING: K

CHAPTER SUMMARY: AU Nikiji Haruno wanted a little boy. When he got Sakura, his whole world changed. Then Sakura falls in love at sixteen, changing Kakashi's life.

GENRE: romance

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku

SONG: All American Girl

ARTIST: Carrie Underwood

* * *

ALL AMERICAN GIRL

"_Since the day they got married,  
He'd been praying for a little baby boy."_

Nikiji paces the waiting room, having not been allowed back into the maternity ward with his wife while she gives birth to their child. He prays to God that it will be a boy.

"_Someone he could take fishing,  
Throw the football and be his pride and joy.  
He could already see him holding that trophy,  
Taking his team to state."_

He starts planning everything he will do with his son; take him fishing, teach him how to play football, help him with school. Yes, he has it all planned out. Suddenly, his wife's screams stop, to be replaced by the wail of a newborn child. His heart leaps to his throat as a nurse motions for him to follow her.

"_But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket,  
All those big dreams changed."_

He follows her to the delivery room, where his wife is waiting. She smiles tiredly at him and motions for him to come over and wait with her while the doctors use precautionary exams on their newborn, as it decided to be born five weeks early. They both look up as a nurse walks in. Nikiji's heart jumps in his throat again as he sees the pink blanket in her arms. The nurse smiles as she hands the child to him. "It's a girl," she says warmly. "And she's perfectly healthy."

"_And now he's wrapped around her finger,  
She's the center of his whole world.  
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl."_

Nikiji looks down into the large emerald eyes of his daughter and is instantly wrapped around her little finger. He'll do anything to protect this tiny girl from harm of any sort. She lets out a yawn with her tiny mouth and falls asleep in his arms. Nikiji and Simari smile down at their baby girl. "We'll call her 'Sakura'," Simari says softly, Nikiji nodding in agreement.

"_Sixteen short years later,  
She was falling for the senior football star"._

Sixteen years pass far faster than Nikiji would like and now his daughter is falling for the senior football star at school, Kakashi Hatake, despite that fact that he's two years older than her. And the football player became wrapped around her finger on first sight.

"_Before you knew it he was dropping passes,  
Skipping practice just to spend more time with her."_

Sakura laughs as Kakashi twirls her around. "Aren't you supposed to be at practice?" she asks when he sets her down.

He grins and shrugs. "Practice isn't nearly as important as you," he replies

She blushes cutely as she lays her head on his chest. He wraps his strong arms around her. "You softie," she giggles. He just laughs.

"_The coach said "Hey son, what's your problem? Tell me, have you lost your mind?"_

Kakashi winces as his coach scowls at him. "That's the tenth practice you missed this year," he says. "What's your problem?"

He grins. "No problem, Coach. I just find that being with my girlfriend is far more important than football."

The coach shakes his head. "Have you lost your mind?" he asks. "No, don't answer that," he continues when Kakashi opens his mouth.

"_Daddy said "You'll lose your free ride to college. Boy you better tell her goodbye."_

"You're going to lose your football scholarship if you keep this up," his father says, frowning. "You better tell her goodbye and get back in the game."

Kakashi's eyes widen in shock. "I don't think that's possible," he protests. "I don't think I can break her heart like that."

His father shakes his head. "You'll lose your free ride to collage then," he states.

"_But now he's wrapped around her finger,  
She's the center of his whole world."_

"He said that?" Sakura asks softly when Kakashi tells her what his father said. "Are you?" she whispers, her eyes pleading with him to say "no".

"_And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American..."_

He grins. "You're more important than college," he replies warmly.

She smiles and hugs him. "Thank you Kakashi," she murmurs into his chest. He smiles softly and wraps his arms around the girl who holds his heart in her hands.

"_And when they got married and decided to have one of their own,  
She said "Be honest, tell me what do you want?"_

"Be honest, do you want a girl or boy?" Sakura asks her new husband.

"_And he said "Honey, you oughta know... Sweet, little, beautiful... one just like you. Oh a beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American..."_

Kakashi smiles. "Honey, I don't really care, as long as it's just like you," he says sweetly, causing her to chuckle.

_"Now he's wrapped around her finger,  
She's the center of his whole world."_

He pulls her into his arms; she just gave him the news: she's pregnant with their first child.

"_And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl."_

He holds her hand as she screams again, pushing with all her might to bring their child into the world. Soon, her screams end and the wail of a newborn child take their place. The doctors and nurses take the child to clean it up and make sure it's healthy. Soon, a nurse walks in with a child bundled in a pink blanket. "Congratulations, it's a girl," she says, handing the small bundle to him.

"_Oh American Girl."_


	7. Who You'd be Today

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Naruto series, so please stop asking!

RATING: T _just in case_

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Someone stands at the memorial stone, remembering a cherry blossom kunoichi who died too young.

GENRE: angst

PAIRINGS: Saku/? _**You'll find out at the end of this song-fic-chapter**_

SONG: Who You'd Be Today

ARTIST: Kenny Chesney

* * *

WHO YOU'D BE TODAY

"_Sunny days seem to hurt the most  
Wear the pain like a heavy coat"_

Pained eyes stare at a certain name on the memorial of Leaf nin killed in action. _Haruno Sakura._ It's been nearly three years since she died at only sixteen. She would be turning nineteen today if she hadn't been killed. 

"_I feel you everywhere I go  
I see your smile, I see your face  
I hear you laughing in the rain  
Still can't believe you're gone"_

"Sakura," lips whisper painfully. He had only just found his love for her. But then she was torn away before they could take action on their emotions. She took a storm of kunai meant for him. "Why'd you do it?" he asks the stone. Of course, the dark stone will never answer any of his questions. Two of the kunai had pierced her heart and two more pierced each of her lungs. She died instantly, for which he is somewhat grateful. She didn't have to suffer in her final moments of life. "You were too young to die. You never got to experience life." His eyes turn to look up at the clouds. "What would you be like today?" he asks the clouded heavens, rain pouring down on his face. No answer. Not that he expected one, anyways.

"_It ain't fair you died too young  
Like a story that had just begun  
The death tore the pages all away"_

"_Oh come on! We're going to be late, and I don't like being late!" Sakura says, putting her hands on her sixteen-year-old hips and glaring at him. He just smirks. "Ugh, I can't believe you," she sighs. "I'm going, don't be too late!"_

"_Hai, hai," he chuckles, watching her disappear out his bedroom window. He shakes his head in amusement. 'She certainly likes to be the mother hen of the team,' he thinks._

"_God knows how I miss you  
All the hell that I've been through"_

"It's been hard on the whole team, these past three years without you," he murmurs to her name on the cold stone. "You were the bright part of the team that kept us all in higher spirits."

"_I love you."_

He remembers the words she said her last night of life as clearly as if she had just said them moments ago. And he clearly remembers the love they had shared that night. He had been expecting to be able to hold her for many years to come, not just one night. But fate had other plans.

"_Just knowing no one could take your place  
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today"_

His throat clenches tightly as the scent of cherry blossoms blows on the wind to assault his nose. He sighs, wishing that the smell had come from her, not the trees she was named after. The scent had always seemed to be part of her very being. She always smelled of strawberries from her shampoo and her natural cherry blossom scent.

"_Would you see the world?  
Would you chase your dreams?"_

He senses someone approaching, but ignores it. The chakra signature says it's another member of the team. "I thought you'd be here," the newcomer says softly.

"Ohayo," he replies.

"_Settle down with a family?  
I wonder, what would you name your babies?"_

The newcomer looks at the memorial stone, sadness and regret in his eyes. He and Sakura had gotten into a huge fight just hours before she died. He never got the chance to apologize. "I still can't believe she's gone," he murmurs.

"Neither can I," is the reply.

"_Some days the sky's so blue  
I feel like I can talk to you  
And I know it might sound crazy"_

The newcomer looks up at the dark clouds pouring rain down on them. "I have to go; I have a mission that starts in twenty minutes," he sighs. "Sayonara."

"Sayonara."

With that, the newcomer disappears in an instant. The remaining man sighs, tracing Sakura's name on the stone with his eyes yet again. He's done this hundreds of thousands of times in the past three years.

"_It ain't fair you died too young  
Like a story that had just begun  
The death tore the pages all away"_

"I wish you were still here with us," he whispers.

"_God knows how I miss you  
All the hell that I've been through"_

"Please, be happy wherever you are," he murmurs. "We'll manage to go on without you somehow, no matter how hard it will be."

"_Just knowing no one could take your place  
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today"_

"_I love you."_

He looks around quickly. He could have sworn he just heard her voice in real life, not just a memory. But the field the monument is in is clear and he doesn't sense anyone nearby. He shakes his head. "I guess I miss you more than I thought, to imagine hearing your voice," he murmurs to the stone.

"_Today"_

Suddenly, a cherry blossom floats through the air in front of him. He catches it in his left palm. He looks around again, knowing that there are no cherry trees anywhere near this field. He looks back at the flower. It's scent wafts up through the rain to assault his nose. But unlike a normal cherry blossom, this one has a hint of strawberries mixed in its scent.

"_Today"_

"How…?" he wonders, stopping himself before he says anything else.

"_Today"_

He looks up at the clouds overhead, wondering if maybe she had heard him and sent this token to let him know that she heard. He shakes his head. Impossible.

"_Today"_

"Sakura," he whispers. The wind blows by again and he almost believes he hears her voice.

"_Today"_

"_I love you. Live for me."_

"_Today"_

If it weren't for the second sentence, he'd blame hearing her voice on his memory again. But he had never heard her say that second sentence. "Sakura?" he gasps.

"_Sunny days seem to hurt the most  
I wear the pain like a heavy coat  
The only thing that gives me hope  
Is I know I'll see you again someday"_

He shakes his head and turns back to the monument. Only to step back in shock upon seeing what is next to the monument… or rather, _who_ is next to the monument. "Sakura?" he gasps in disbelief upon seeing her in a white dress that falls to her ankles. Only thing that makes this seem real rather than a dream is that the rain is falling through her and he can see the monument through her transparent body.

"_Someday"_

"_Kakashi-koi,"_ the vision whispers _"Live for me. We'll be together again soon enough. Live for me."_

"Sakura? How?" he asks.

She walks towards him, grass going through her transparent feet, and gives him a light kiss on his covered lips. He can feel the pressure of lips against his. _"Live for me,"_ she whispers. _"Live for me. Protect Konoha for me. We will be together again soon enough. I promise. I'll come for you when it is time."_

"_Someday"_

She starts fading away and Kakashi reaches his hand out to try to catch her arm before she is gone, only for his hand to go through her. _"I love you, Kakashi-koi. Live for me,"_ she whispers before she's completely gone.

"Sakura…," he breathes.


	8. Just Has to Be This Way

Songs About Me

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: if I owned the Naruto series, I'd be a rich Japanese man. As I am not rich, nor Japanese, and am a woman, I can't possibly own the Naruto series.

RATING: T _just in case_

CHAPTER SUMMARY: they don't want to be hurt again, so they can't follow their hearts back into each other's arms.

GENRE: angst

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku

SONG: It Just Has to Be This Way

ARTIST: Reba McEntire, Vince Gill

* * *

IT JUST HAS TO BE THIS WAY

"_The sound of your voice the touch of your skin  
If we go there it will start all over again"_

Sakura stares blankly out the window at the storm outside her apartment. "Kakashi," she whispers mournfully.

Yes, she loves him. And yes, he loves her. But they can't get together again. It will just hurt more when they are forced to separate again. She's twenty-one and he's thirty-five. He was her former teacher. That makes their love taboo. Even though all the villages have accepted Naruto's and Sasuke's relationship, Konoha forced her to separate from Kakashi.

"_So don't even call there's no need for checking in  
If it's really over let it just be over"_

It's rained every day since they were forced apart. And there's no end in sight for the storms. This has baffled everyone, because neither Konoha nor Suna have had so much rain at one time. It's more than three years worth of rain in a matter of three weeks.

"_No, we won't be sharing coffee  
Or having lunch from time to time"_

She was sent to Suna as a permanent ambassador while Kakashi was kept in Konoha when their relationship was found out. They were told that it was because Sakura is excellent in politics and Kakashi was needed in Konoha. But they both know that it was just a cover story to use as an excuse to end their relationship.

She's been getting more and more depressed everyday she is away from Kakashi. Both Suna and Konoha know this. And both villages know why. Gaara is constantly trying to get Tsunade to allow Sakura to come back before the medic nin does something drastic out of depression. But the aging Sanin refuses time and time again. Apparently, she highly disapproves of Sakura's and Kakashi's relationship and would rather them depressed than together. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro all know that this is the worst choice. Kakashi and Sakura had become inseparable over their years together. Without the other, they are both slowly losing their will to live. All of Suna sees this in Sakura and Gaara's ambassadors in Konoha have said the same thing is happening to Kakashi.

"_I won't ask about your family  
Please don't ask me about mine  
This is never what I wanted  
And it's killing me to say  
It just has to be this way"_

Kakashi sighs as his thoughts wander to Sakura again. He stares at his ceiling while lying on his back on his bed. 'Sakura,' he thinks gloomily. He hasn't seen her face to face since she was sent to Suna three weeks ago. 'I miss you.'

The whole village has noticed that he has become more and more depressed with every passing day that Sakura is out of his reach. And the whole village knows why. But Tsunade refuses to allow her to come back. The Sanin apparently thinks that the two of them being depressed is better than them being together. But the village knows different. The medic Jounin and the Copy Nin are both slowly losing their will to live the longer they are apart.

"_We gave all we could we fought the good fight  
But no matter how we loved we couldn't get it right"_

Kakashi rarely leaves his apartment unless he is ordered to by Tsunade or has a mission. He completes his missions, but comes back with numerous injuries every time. Tsunade is getting very annoyed with this and can't seem to understand why, but everyone else in the village understands perfectly. He is hoping to die on a mission rather than commit suicide. His will to live is slipping further away with every passing day.

"_It hurts to let go but it's harder hangin' on  
I don't want it to be over we know that it's over"_

By the time two months have passed with Kakashi and Sakura being separated, the continuous storms have caused lots of flooding, sinkholes, and many other disasters in both Suna and Konoha. It's on the day two months from when he last saw her that Kakashi takes his own life. He had finally given up on living without his beloved cherry blossom and slit his own neck. He is found that evening when a messenger nin arrives to inform him that Tsunade wants him to come to the Hokage Tower to be briefed on a mission she has for him.

"_No, we won't be sharing coffee  
Or having lunch from time to time"_

Startled, the messenger nin rushes back to Tsunade to inform her of Kakashi's suicide. Shocked beyond belief, Tsunade finally realizes why Kakashi had been coming back with injuries after every mission. She realizes her mistake in separating Kakashi and Sakura. It is two days later that she receives a message from Suna informing her of Sakura's suicide on the exact same day in the exact same manner. It is thought that Sakura and Kakashi committed suicide at the exact same time too.

"_I won't ask about your family  
Please don't ask me about mine  
This is never what I wanted  
And it's killing me to say  
It just has to be this way"_

The guilt Tsunade feels when she realizes that neither Kakashi or Sakura would have committed suicide if they hadn't been separated is almost overwhelming. Sakura's body is brought back from Suna to be buried next to Kakashi and arrives the day after Tsunade got the letter. Tsunade is the one filled with the most grief as Sakura's coffin is lowered into the ground beside Kakashi's. They were buried the same day, their coffins side-by-side.

"_And even if I change my mind  
Don't let me hurt me one more time  
Stay away from me be as cold as you can be"_

Tsunade blames herself for the suicides of two of Konoha's best nin ever. If she had not separated the two upon finding out about their relationship, they would be alive and happy. They might even have had kids one day, since Sakura was still so young and always wanted to be a mother. Tsunade had trouble sleeping for the next several months, visions of Sakura's and Kakashi's dead bodies haunting her dreams and the knowledge that she had been the one to cause it causing her even more grief.

"_No, we won't be sharing coffee  
Or having lunch from time to time  
I won't ask about your family  
Please don't ask about mine"_

Tsunade wishes she had listened to Gaara's advice on bringing Sakura back before she or Kakashi did something drastic out of depression. If she had listened, they'd have lived. If she had listened, they wouldn't be buried in the Konoha honored nin cemetery along with heroes and Hokages of the past.

"_This is never what I wanted  
And it's killing me to say  
It just has to be this way"_

Eventually, Tsunade's grief caused her to have a heart attack one night and die in her sleep. A very depressed and unhappy Naruto was made Rokudaime, the sixth Hokage. He had dreamed of being Hokage, but with Sakura and Kakashi there to watch as well as Tsunade. He had never dreamed he'd lose two good friends and a mother-figure before his Hokage inauguration.

"_Oh, it just has to be this way"_


	9. If You See Him If You See Her

Songs About Me

DG32173

**_NOTICE:_** THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER UPDATES WITHOUT REVIEWS! SO PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto nor do I own any songs in this fic.

RATING: T _just in case_

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Kakashi and Sakura are still not over their separation…

GENRE: romance/angst

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku

SONG: If You See Him; If You See Her

ARTIST: Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn

--

IF YOU SEE HIM; IF YOU SEE HER

"_If you see him, tell him I wish him well."_

"Hey Sakura?" Naruto calls out his friend's name. she jumps slightly and looks at him. "Ya still miss him." He doesn't have to specify who 'he' is. Naruto sees the look in her eye, saying she's about to deny it. "Don't deny it. Anyone can see you do."

She sighs and looks at her lap. "Yeah, I do. Hey Naruto, if you see him, tell him … tell him I wish him well, k?" she says softly.

Naruto smiles slightly and nods. "Yeah, sure thing Sakura. Oh, that reminds me; he said to ask how you're doing?" he says.

"_How am I doing? Well sometimes it's hard to tell. I still miss him more than ever. But please don't say a word."_

"It's hard to tell, sometimes. I miss him more than ever. But please! Don't tell him that! Don't even hint it!" she says. "Tell him I'm as good as can be." She pauses. "And ask him how he's doing, okay?"

"_If you see Him. Oh, if you see him."_

"Sure thing, Sakura."

"_If you see her, tell her I'm doing fine."_

"Sakura says she's as good as can be," Naruto informs Kakashi that evening. "She wants to know how you're doing."

The older man's smile seems more of a grimace, but Naruto doesn't point it out. "Tell her, I'm doing fine," he says.

"Kakashi, don't lie to me," Naruto demands.

"_Ask her if she ever wonders where we both went wrong."_

"I don't want to worry her," he says softly. "Ask her if she ever wonders… if she ever wonders where we went wrong."

"_If you see her. If you see her."_

Naruto sighs. "Okay. Will do."

"_Oh, I still want her"_

As Naruto goes to stand up, Kakashi speaks again. "I still want her," he says softly, looking out the window at the pouring rain. "Don't tell her, though."

"_And I still need him so."_

"I still need him so much, Naruto. I don't know where we went wrong. I don't know why we let each other go," she says softly, her jade green eyes flooding with tears. But not one teardrop leaves her eyes.

"_I don't know why we let each other go. _

"I don't know why we let each other go," Kakashi sighs.

"_If you see her, tell her the light's still on for her."_

"Tell her the lights will always be on if she ever needs anything," he continues.

Naruto scowls, but doesn't let Kakashi see it. He's getting tired of playing messenger boy between the two lovebirds. If they still love each other, then why the hell did they separate in the first place?! He, and the whole village, is getting fed up with them wallowing in misery. Tsunade especially, as it's affecting their on the job performance. Sakura nearly cut one shinobi's hand off out of distraction. And Kakashi constantly comes back cut up and bruised, but refuses to allow Sakura, the best medic in the village next to Tsunade, see to his wounds.

"_Nothing's changed deep down the fire still burns for him. And even if  
it takes forever, say I'll still be here. If you see him."_

"Nothing's changed about my feelings, Naruto," Sakura says softly. "The fire still burns for him deep down. If you see him, let him know that even if it takes forever, I'll still be here for him."

"_If you see her…_

"_If you see him…_

"_If you see her…"_

"DAMMIT!! I'M SICK OF THIS! YOU TWO NEED TO GET BACK TOGETHER ALREADY!"

Naruto's yell is heard all over Konoha, causing many citizens and shinobi to hide their smiles.


	10. The Christmas Shoes

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Naruto cast. Nor do I own any song used in this fanfic.

RATING: K

CHAPTER SUMMARY: AU a young boy wants to buy a pair of shoes for his ailing mother's Christmas present …

GENRE: General

PAIRINGS: N/A

SONG: The Christmas Shoes

ARTIST: NewSong

AUTHOR'S NOTE: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I figured I'd give a little Christmas song for the holidays; I chose this one because this reminds us all of the _**real**_ meaning of Christmas. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

THE CHRISTMAS SHOES

_**It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line  
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood  
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously  
Pacing 'round like little boys do  
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes**_

A man with black hair and onyx eyes looks at the items in his arms, then at the line ahead of him. It's Christmas Eve and he's getting the last few presents for his friends. Just ahead of him is a small boy holding a pair of beautiful heels covered with ruby red glitter. The boy is fidgeting, as most boys do when they have to wait.

_**His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe  
And when it came his time to pay  
I couldn't believe what I heard him say**_

The young boy is wearing old, worn clothing: a raggedy, home-made scarf, a jacket that is almost all patches, jeans with holes in both knees, and a too-small shirt with a picture of an angel. Finally, it's time for the boy to pay for the shoes. When the boy opens his mouth, the man cannot believe his ears.

"_**Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please  
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size  
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time  
You see she's been sick for quite a while  
And I know these shoes would make her smile  
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight"**_

"Sir, I want to buy this shoes for my Mama please," the boy starts, putting a large jar of coins on the counter beside the shoes. He has snow white hair and emerald green eyes. "It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size. Could you hurry, please, sir? Daddy says there's not much time left for Mama. She's been sick for quite a while, you see. I know these shoes will make her smile. I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight."

_**He counted pennies for what seemed like years  
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"**_

The cashier counts the coins for what seems like hours. Finally, he smiles sadly at the boy. "I'm sorry son, but there's not enough here."

_**He searched his pockets frantically  
Then he turned and he looked at me  
He said "Mama made Christmas good at our house  
Though most years she just did without  
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do  
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes"**_

The boy searches his pockets frantically, looking for every last penny that might help him buy the shoes. Finally, he turns to the black-haired man behind him. "Mama made Christmas good at our house, though most years she just did without gifts. Tell me, Sir, what am I going to do? Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas Shoes."

_**So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out  
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said  
"Mama's gonna look so great"**_

Knowing that he can't just let the boy leave without those shoes as a present for his mother, the man lays down the full amount for the shoes, putting the boys money back in the jar. "Here, kid," the man says warmly, handing the jar and box of shoes to the boy.

The man will never forget the grateful look on the boy's face as he says, "Mama's gonna look so great!"

"_**Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please  
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size  
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time  
You see she's been sick for quite a while  
And I know these shoes would make her smile  
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight"**_

_**I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love  
As he thanked me and ran out  
I knew that God had sent that little boy  
To remind me just what Christmas is all about**_

"Thank you so much, sir!" the boy says, putting the box of shoes and jar of money in his old backpack. Then he runs out into the snow.

Uchiha Sasuke smiles after the kid. God must have sent the little boy to remind him just what Christmas is all about…

------------

"Merry Christmas, Mama!" the young boy says, shoving the box into his ailing mother's arms. Hatake Sakura and Kakashi look between the box and their son, Hatake Obito, in surprise. "Open it, Mama!" Obito says excitedly. "A very nice man helped me buy them just for you, Mama," he says as Sakura lifts the lid to see the beautiful shoes.

"Thank you, Obito," Sakura sobs happily, tears of gratefulness flowing down her smiling face. She has the most wonderful child ever.

"You're welcome, Mama!" Obito says. "Try them on!"

Sakura does just that, gasping in delight to see that the beautiful shoes are just her size; it is very hard for Sakura to find shoes that fit her properly due to her small, petite feet.

------------

Hatake Obito smiles happily on Christmas Day to see that his final present for his Mama are on her feet as she lies in her coffin. She had died overnight and is being buried on Christmas Day. Now his Mama will look _very_ beautiful when she meets Jesus, wearing her favorite red dress and the Christmas Shoes…


	11. Even In Death

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: how many times do I have to say this?! I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY SONG IN THIS FIC!

RATING: T

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Sakura doesn't take Kakashi's death very well…

GENRE: tragic

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku

SONG: Even In Death

ARTIST: Evanescence

* * *

EVEN IN DEATH

_**Give me a reason to believe that you're gone**_

"No, he can't be," Sakura whispers. "They're lying. That's it, they're all lying!" she says forcefully.

_**I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong**_

She sees a shadow on the wall. His shadow. "Kakashi-koi! I knew they were wrong!" she says happily, turning. But no one is there. "Kakashi-koi? Where'd you go?" she asks, looking around.

_**Moonlight on the soft brown earth  
It leads me to where you lay**_

A shadowy figure walks swiftly and silently through night, following the moonlight on the soft earth of the Haruno-Hatake graveyard. There! That's where they put him. They took him from her, but she's taking him home now.

_**They took you away from me but now I'm taking you home**_  
_**I will stay forever here with you  
My love**_

"We'll stay here forever, together, Kakashi-koi," she whispers to him, clutching his cold body to her side. "You're so cold, Kakashi-koi," she says softly, snuggling into his side.

_**The softly spoken words you gave me  
Even in death our love goes on**_

"_I love you, Sakura," he said, getting down on one knee. "Stay with me, forever," he continued, opening the ring box to reveal the most beautiful ring she had ever seen._

"_Even in death," Sakura said warmly, allowing him to slip the ring on her left hand. It was a perfect fit._

_**Some say I'm crazy for my love, Oh my love**_

"Sakura? Tsunade-baa-chan's looking for you! She's having a fit! You shoulda been at the hospital hours ago!" Naruto calls from the open doorway. There is dirt everywhere. Then the smell hits him: decay and death. "Sakura?!" he yells. He follows the dirt path to the living room couch. He gasps in shock and horror at what he sees. She has Kakashi's body next to her, snuggling against him and conversing with him as if he were still alive. "She's lost it," he whispers in horror. "I have to tell Tsunade-baa-chan!" he says, turning and running for the Hokage Tower.

_**But no bonds can hold me from your side, Oh my love**_

Sakura tears the bonds apart with her chakra. Nothing will keep her from his side! They keep trying to bind her again and again, but she rips the bonds apart with her chakra before they get near her. She runs; nothing will stop her from being at his side. He's just sleeping heavily, she tells herself over and over. He'll wake up and be glad to see her at his side.

_**They don't know you can't leave me**_

"He can't leave me! I won't allow it!" she growls, clutching him with all her strength; the others can't pull the decaying corpse from her grasp, not even Tsunade.

_**They don't hear you singing to me**_

He liked to sing, but only for her ears. She hears his song that he called her song and knows they are wrong, that he is not dead.

_**I will stay forever here with you  
My love  
The softly spoken words you gave me  
Even in death our love goes on**_

She doesn't realize that staying at his side constantly is causing her to starve and lose weight she doesn't have to lose. It's been two weeks since he died and she's already skin and bones. Her high metabolism is eating away at her very organs to keep her alive.

_**And I can't love you, anymore than I do**_

Nothing anyone can say or do will make Sakura wake up from her fantasy and realize that Kakashi truly is gone. They can only watch sadly as she finally starves herself to death. Her organs are revealed half-eaten by her metabolism during the mandatory autopsy. Her eternal devotion to Kakashi causes her young death at only twenty-three, exactly one month after Kakashi's death at thirty-seven.

_**I will stay forever here with you  
My love  
The softly spoken words you gave me  
Even in death our love goes on**_

_**And I can't love you, anymore than I do**_

"_Sakura-koi," he greets, smiling his gentle smile for her alone._

_She runs into his open arms. "Kakashi-koi," she whispers, clutching him tightly. "I missed you so much," she murmurs into his strong chest._

"_I missed you too," he whispers into her hair._

**People die, but real love is forever.**


	12. My Last Breath

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: This is getting highly annoying, but I don't own Naruto or any song in this fic. I only own this fic.

RATING: M (just in case)

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Sakura is dying in his arms and there is nothing Kakashi can do about it. Sakura's POV

GENRE: angst

PAIRINGS: Kaka/Saku

SONG: My Last Breath

ARTIST: Evanescence

* * *

MY LAST BREATH

_**Hold on to me love  
You know I can't stay long**_

I gasp for breath, trying to draw enough air into my deflating lungs to tell him, the man I've loved and admired since I was twelve, that I love him and not to worry. Heh, I've loved and admired him for seventeen years to the day. I'm supposed to be turning twenty-nine and celebrating my anniversary and birthday, not dying out in the middle of nowhere. "Kakashi…," I gasp softly.

_**All I wanted was to say I love you and I'm not afraid  
Can you hear me?  
Can you feel me in your arms?**_

"Save your breath, Sakura," he says gently, stroking my blood-soaked hair. "The medics will be here soon, you'll be okay." A lie, we both know it. We are at least eight kilometers from the nearest medic, and it's just the two of us. Pakkun won't make it to the medics and back in time for them to do anything; I'll already be gone from this world long before.

_**Holding my last breath  
Safe inside myself**_

I force a smile for him, despite the pain. "I … love … you," I gasp, slowly reaching a bloodied hand to touch the side of his face. I had finally convinced him to rid himself of that be-damned mask three years ago and let the world see his gorgeous face. He places a hand over mine.

_**Are all my thoughts of you?  
Sweet raptured light  
It ends here tonight**_

"I know," he whispers brokenly. We've been married five years now, so the whole world knows it. "I love you too."

_**I'll miss the winter  
A world of fragile things**_

"I'm … not … afraid," I say softly, blinking my eyes to get rid of the blurriness. It doesn't work. "I'll … miss … you," I continue. "I'll … miss … winter."

_**Look for me in the white forest  
Hiding in a hollow tree (come and find me)**_

He lets out a forced laugh. We both love the winter. All the major milestones in our relationship, except one, happened in the winter. "I'll miss you too, Sakura," he says, giving me a shaky smile that doesn't reach his beautiful mix-matched eyes, which are filled with only depression and anger. Depressilon about my death, and anger at the one who caused it, who was killed by Kakashi.

_**I know you hear me  
I can taste it in your tears**_

My eyes slowly close of their own accord. I feel water drip on my face and taste the saltiness in it. He's crying. The man that has killed several thousand people without a blink of the eye, is crying for me, a girl fourteen years younger than him.

_**Holding my last breath  
Safe inside myself**_

"I'm … so … cold," I whisper. He maneuvers me as best he can so that I'm reclining in his lap.

_**Are all my thoughts of you?  
Sweet raptured light  
It ends here tonight**_

We were just walking through the forest together, searching for signs of what had happened to a group of three Genin and their Jounin teacher, who had all suddenly disappeared from the Village. The Jounin and one of the Genin had turned up dead two days after they disappeared at the gate of the village. We had found some signs of a massive battle in this clearing, and another Genin body.

_**Closing your eyes to disappear  
You pray your dreams will leave you here  
**_

We were investigating it when Sasuke, who had been a Missing Nin for nearly thirteen years now, suddenly attacked me from behind while I was at the opposite end of the clearing from Kakashi. Hi used Chidori on me, ripping his fist through my back and out my chest along with one of my lungs, part of my heart, and half of my stomach. I had enough time to get a strangled scream of pain out before I fell to the ground at his feet. Kakashi had _literally_ flown across the clearing, after instantaneously summoning Pakkun to go get help for me, and killed Sasuke with Raikiri, the more perfected version of Chidori. And that is where we had started this fractured conversation before my death. We both knew that the second Sasuke aimed at me with Chidori, my death would be inevitable.

_**But still you wake and know the truth  
No one's there**_

"Live … for … me," I whisper, watching him with rapidly fading vision. All I can see is blurs now, and even that is fading to black.

_**Say goodnight  
Don't be afraid**_

"I will," he says brokenly. "I promise."

_**Calling me calling me as you fade to black**_

"I'll … see … you … soon … Ka … ka … shi …," I whisper, finally relenting to the darkness that had been slowly overwhelming over me. The last thing I hear in life is him calling for me, calling for me as everything fades to black and I vaguely wonder what death would be like …


	13. Gunpowder and Lead

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: When are you gonna stop asking? I don't own Naruto or any song in this fic. I just own the stories I made using the songs.

RATING: M

CHAPTER SUMMARY: AU Sakura finally decides she's had enough of Sasuke's abusive habits. So she decides to show him her crazy side.

GENRE: drama

PAIRINGS: anti-Sasu/Saku

SONG: Gunpowder and Lead

ARTIST: Miranda Lambert

* * *

GUNPOWDER AND LEAD

_**County road 233, under my feet  
Nothin' on this white rock but little ol' me**_

Sakura is scowling and walking to her home. She just got out of court where she had finally told the world of Sasuke's abusive habits, showing the proof in the bruises and cuts all over her body. They put him in with a million-dollar bail.

_**I've got two miles till, he makes bail  
And if I'm right we're headed straight for hell**_

But he's still gonna make bail; bastard comes from an insanely rich family. So she's decided to take care of this herself, even if she gets in jail herself. Unlikely, since the jury will know she was pushed past the limit from abuse.

_**I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun  
Wait by the door and light a cigarette  
If he wants a fight, well now he's got one  
And he ain't seen me crazy yet  
He slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll  
Don't that sound like a real man?  
I'm gonna show him what little girls are made of  
Gunpowder and lea**_

Once in her door, she grabs the shotgun she had hidden in a hidden compartment in the wall by the door and loads every chamber with bullets. He is definitely gonna be dead after this. She lights a cigarette and waits patiently. He'll be driving in very soon.

_**Well it's half past ten, another six pack in  
And I can feel the rumble like a cold black wind  
He pulls in the drive, gravel flies  
He don't know what's waitin' here this time**_

An involuntary instinctive shudder runs up her spine when she hears his Chevy pull into the drive. But she is determined to see this through, despite her fear of him. He has no idea as to what is waiting for him _this_ time.

_**Hey I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun  
Wait by the door and light a cigarette  
If he wants a fight well now he's got one  
And he ain't seen me crazy yet  
He slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll  
Don't that sound like a real man?  
I'm gonna show him what little girls are made of  
Gunpowder and lead**_

"You bitch!" he yells through the door as he unlocks it. "You're dead now!"

_**His fist is big but my gun's bigger  
He'll find out when I pull the trigger**_

He opens the door only to see the barrel of a .38 caliber pointed straight at him. "Wanna bet?" Sakura growls.

He scoffs. "You haven't the nerve, bitch!" he snarls. Only to yelp in pain when his left knee is shot. He collapses, unable to stand on it. "You fucking bitch!" he growls.

"You're not gonna see the sun ever again," Sakura says, her eyes crazy. She shoots his other knee, then both elbows. "This is gonna take _all_ night, though," she snarls. "You'll see something you ain't never seen: me crazy." She shoots both his shoulders and his stomach.

_**I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun  
Wait by the door and light a cigarette  
If he wants a fight well now he's got one  
And he ain't seen me crazy yet**_

"How dare you?! You bitch!" he yells, despite his helplessness. He cannot pay retribution to the girl holding a gun that is loaded with bullets that have his name all over them. He sees a large satchel in her hand with more bullets outlined. This _will_ take all night, if she intends on using every one before killing him.

"You've pushed and pushed. Now you hit the breaking point," she tells him almost conversationally. She shoots his kidney. She's a trained medic, and knows every part of the body, male and female, and the exact location of each part. Then she shoots his balls and penis. He yelps in severe pain, doubling over. She has to reload her gun now, giving him a slight reprieve. She then shoots his left ear, the bullet tearing the outer ear to shreds. "I'm going to repay every pain you laid on me with a bullet," she says. "Then I'll kill you." She shoots eight more places and reloads her gun again.

_**He slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll  
Don't that sound like a real man?**_

Sasuke is bleeding heavily all over and in horrible pain. He is starting to wonder if maybe he shouldn't have underestimated her tonight. She then empties three more rounds bullets on him. Now he is suffering from complete body shutdown. Every minor organ in his body has suffered heavy trauma from multiple bullet shots. She hasn't shot his brain, heart, or lungs yet. She is making sure that this lasts all night long. The entire time she shoots him, she tells him in complete detail about each and every time he has abused her. He is positive he has underestimated her the entire time she was his. Finally, she shoots his left lung three times.

_**I'm gonna show him what little girls are made of  
Gunpowder and,  
Gunpowder and lead**_

"It's now five-thirty, dawn," she tells him conversationally. "I'm glad that you made me move so far from other people. The cops woulda been here hours ago if we were any closer to town." She shoots his right lung twice and his left long three more times. The last bullet hits his right ear then she reloads the last time. She shoots his right lung four more times, shoots his heart twice, and empties the other two into his brain. He had been dead before her reload, but she wanted to continue this because it feels so good. She finally puts one more bullet in the gun and puts the barrel in her mouth, pointing it to her brain. Having emptied over a hundred bullets into Sasuke would be overkill, and that would definitely get her jail time. That or life in an insane asylum. She fires the gun and blows her brains out, killing herself instantly.

_**Gunpowder and lead, yeah**_

_**Hey!**_

The cops show up around eight, having been called several times over night about gunshots being fired at this location reported by passing drivers. They had delayed answering the calls because everyone in town knows that Sasuke Uchiha had finally driven Sakura Haruno into insanity from abuse. But when they finally arrive, they realize maybe they should have shown up earlier. Sasuke Uchiha is pretty much filled with bullet holes and definitely dead. Sakura Haruno is also dead, a peaceful smile on her face and her brains blown out. When the coroner does the exam on what remains of Sasuke , they find out that Sakura had kept him alive for most of the night, shooting him in places that would cause pain and injury, but not death. And there are nine post-mortem wounds in vital areas. In total, she had fired about one hundred and thirty-five bullets, fifteen rounds, into him, and one bullet into herself soon after she finished with him.


	14. Tourniquet

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or any song in this fanfic.

RATING: M

CHAPTER SUMMARY: After feeling like she's being used by so many she had loved, Sakura finds her blood is pouring out as crimson regret …

GENRE: angst, tragedy

PAIRINGS: none

SONG: Tourniquet

ARTIST: Evanescence

* * *

TOURNIQUET

_**I tried to kill the pain  
but only brought more  
so much more**_

She stares hazily at the masterpiece on her ceiling, the cross with Jesus nailed there, a halo around his body. She wonders if they, her supposed friends, would be sad about her death. Probably not. They hadn't even bothered to come see her on her birthday, yesterday. Of course they knew yesterday was her birthday, they'd always known. And they'd visited her on her birthday every year up until two years ago. Three missed birthdays, and no one even calling happy birthday to her when she went about town. They won't miss her. Sure, her _talent_ and _potential_ as a medic-nin would be missed, but not her.

_**I lay dying  
and I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal**_

She moves her eyes slowly to the left then to the right, taking in her shredded wrists. The crimson regret and betrayal is flooding out of the self-inflicted wounds. She returns her eyes to the picture of Jesus on her ceiling. "Am I too lost, drowned in the blood of those I've killed, to come see you?" she asks the picture almost conversationally. Her question isn't answered, but she hadn't expected it to be.

_**I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming  
am I too lost to be saved  
am I too lost?**_

"I probably am to lost," she says softly. "After all, good Christians don't kill without a thought, like shinobi and kunoichi must." She sighs, some blood gurgling out with the breath. She had also slit her neck, only nicking her jugular to make this last a bit longer.

_**my God my tourniquet  
return to me salvation  
my God my tourniquet  
return to me salvation**_

"Please return me to salvation, God," she says softly. "But I'll understand if you don't. I'm not the innocent and loving child I was. Besides, suicide is surely the worst thing a Christian can do to offend you."

_**do you remember me  
lost for so long  
will you be on the other side  
or will you forget me  
I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming  
am I too lost to be saved  
am I too lost?**_

She hears people moving around outside her apartment, then a knock on her door. She doesn't answer as, obviously, she's dying by her own hand. The knocking turns to a banging. "Sakura-chan? Are you there?" Naruto's voice calls through the door.

_**my God my tourniquet  
return to me salvation  
my God my tourniquet  
return to me salvation**_

She slowly grabs the kunai by her right hand and even more slowly raises the arm to stab the kunai into her jugular, causing her to cough up a massive amount of blood. She drops the kunai as her hand falls limply to the floor. Better to be dead completely so they can't resuscitate her.

_**I want to die!!!**_

_**my God my tourniquet  
return to me salvation  
my God my tourniquet  
return to me salvation**_

The door to her apartment splinters under Sasuke's Chidori. She closes her eyes and gives a non-existent laugh. At least she won't have to pay that bill. The blood in her body is nonexistent as her teammates, team Kakashi, rush into her room at the smell of blood permeating her entire apartment. Kakashi is the first by her side, trying his damnedest to stop what few drops of blood she has left in her from coming out. But they all three know they have come too late to save their treasured kunoichi.

_**my wounds cry for the grave  
my soul cries for deliverance  
will I be denied Christ  
tourniquet**_

She hadn't known that her birthday yesterday was ignored because the whole town was going to celebrate it today with her since her teammates had returned from a mission today. All ninja, missing or otherwise, mourn the suicide of the cherry blossom kunoichi that had wormed her way into the hearts of every ninja she's met, S-class criminal to academy student.

_**My suicide…**_


	15. She Wouldn't Be Gone

Songs About Me

DG32173

DISCLAIMER: I don't' own Naruto. I don't own the songs I use. I do own the little chapters written around the songs, so don't steal them.

RATING: T _**for language**_

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Sakura had warned him if he didn't change his ways she'd leave him. Sasuke didn't believe her then but now he wishes he had listened to her…

GENRE: angst

PAIRINGS: Anti Sasu/Saku, hinted Dei/Saku at end

SONG: She Wouldn't Be Gone

ARTIST: Blake Shelton

* * *

SHE WOULDN'T BE GONE

_**Red roadside wild flower  
If I had only picked you,  
Took you home, set you on the counter,  
Oh at least a time or two**_

Sasuke sees the red wildflowers on the side of the interstate fly past and wishes he had picked some for her every so often. He might not be driving around the county looking for her.

_**Maybe she'd have thought it through.**_

He sees the sunset in his rearview mirror and remembers how his pink-haired angel loved just sitting and watching it. Maybe if he took the time to sit and watch it with her more often.

_**Yellow sunset slowly dippin' down in the rearview,  
Oh how she loved to sit and watch you,  
I could have done that a whole lot more.**_

He slams his fist on the steering wheel, making sure not to hit the horn.

_**If I hadn't been so stubborn,  
Been so selfish,  
Thought about her more,  
Thought about me less**_

If only he hadn't been so stubbornly selfish and thought about her more and les about himself.

_**Joked to make her happy,  
Held her when she cried,  
A little more of that, maybe I...**_

He remembers how he used to joke with her early in their relationship just to make her laugh and smile. If only he had kept that up. If only he held her when she cried over the deaths in her family. She came from a huge, tight-knit family and knew every member of her extended family by voice and name.

_**Wouldn't be drivin' like hell,  
Flyin' like crazy down the highway,  
**_

If only he had done more to keep her, he wouldn't be driving like hell all over the damned county, flying down the highway. He grabs his cell phone and calls her mom for the sixth time. _"Hello?"_ her mother asks.

_**Callin' everyone we know,**_

"Have you seen her?" Sasuke asks.

"_I'm sorry Sasuke, but I'm cooking dinner, I have to go,"_ the woman says hurriedly, hanging up.

_**Stoppin' any place she might be,  
Goin' any place she might go.**_

He sees another place she might be and stops to look around the park but doesn't see her. He gets back in his car and heads for the bridge. She always loved skipping rocks there, trying to outdo him. But she's not there either. He calls another number, this one Naruto's. _"Yo!"_ Naruto says.

"Naruto, do you know where Sakura might be?" Sasuke asks.

"_Eh, sorry Sasuke. I gotta get to work, I'll talk to you later,"_ Naruto says, hanging up.

Sasuke curses. All her friends and family are avoiding talking to him.

_**Beatin' on the dash,  
Screamin' out her name at the windshield,  
Tears soakin up my face.  
If I'd have loved her this much all along,  
Maybe, maybe, yeah maybe,  
She wouldn't be gone.  
She wouldn't be gone.**_

He beats the dash, screaming her name brokenheartedly. Tears are streaming down his face. If he had loved her this much all along, she probably wouldn't be gone.

_**She warned me it was comin',  
Said if I didn't change she was leavin'.  
I just didn't believe  
She would ever really walk out.**_

"_Sasuke, if you don't change, I will leave," she says to him. "I don't know what happened to the Sasuke I loved, but you changed."_

_**God I believe her now.  
Called her momma,  
Cried like a baby to her best friend,  
If they've seen her they ain't sayin',  
They ain't sayin'.**_

He hadn't believed she would really walk out on him. God he believes her now! Her best friend and mother aren't saying if they've seen her. None of her friends or family are. Naruto had told him that it is his fault he lost Sakura when he first found out that Sakura had walked out.

_**Now I'm cursin' like a fool,  
Prayin' it ain't too late,  
All I wanna do is fix my mistakes.  
Find her; beg her, for one more try,  
Until then damn it I'll...**_

He is cursing like a fool while praying it ain't too late at the same time. He just wants to fix his mistakes, find her, and beg for one more try. He has a feeling she's given him more chances than he was told and won't come back.

_**be drivin' like hell,  
Flyin' like crazy down the highway,  
Callin' everyone we know,  
Stoppin' any place she might be,  
Goin' any place she might go.  
Beatin' on the dash,  
Screamin' out her name at the windshield,  
Tears soakin' up my face.  
If I'd have loved her this much all along,  
Maybe, maybe, yeah maybe,  
She wouldn't be gone.**_

Even his own brother had told him that he should've treated Sakura with more love and respect. Ha! Itachi talking about love and respect?! If this wasn't so important to him, he'd have laughed his ass off at the irony. Deidara knows his number by heart, since Naruto says Sakura called him all the time to tell him of all their fights and her broken heart. Deidara isn't picking up no matter how many times Sasuke calls. Deidara told him once that Sakura was a lot more precious that Sasuke took her for and that the brunette would lose her if he kept this up. Sasuke had merely brushed it off as jealousy, thinking Sakura would never walk out.

_**I wouldn't be beatin on the dash,  
Screamin' out her name at the windshield,  
Tears soakin' up my face.  
If I'd have loved her this much all along,  
Maybe, maybe, yeah maybe,  
She wouldn't be gone.**_

He drives by Sakura's old house before she moved into his home. No one's there. She had kept it in her name, but now there's a For Sale sign. Sakura said she'd only sell it if she had no choice or wanted to get away. Obviously, she wanted to get away. As he gets back on the interstate to go by Deidara's, he sees more of those red wildflowers.

_**Red roadside wild flower,  
If I had only picked you,  
Took you home, set you on the counter,  
Oh at least a time or two,  
Maybe she'd have thought it through.**_

When he reaches Deidara's, he sees the bedroom curtains open. He slips up to them and steps back in horror at what he sees. Sakura and Deidara are curled around one another, asleep. Both are naked and the messed up sheets tell that they obviously had made love. Sakura had really left him…


End file.
